Baggage, Blended Families & Stepmothers (with Priscilla Appeaning)

Baggage, Blended Families & Stepmothers (with Priscilla Appeaning)

Author: Black Ballad May 8, 2022 Duration: 28:06

According to statistics, "blended families" are on the rise, but the idea of a happily ever after that involves children from previous relationships, is often written off by many people dating.


We get into the practicalities of step-parenting and step-family life with Priscilla Appeaning. It's not all a bed of roses, but it doesn't have to be a basket of thorns either!


Read Priscilla's article, 'Why More Black Women Should Prepare Themselves To Become Step-Mums', on Black Ballad.


Listen back to the dating episode from the last season of The Survival Guide here.


Read Rochelle Rodney's article, 'The Realities Of Dating As A Single Mother', on Black Ballad.


Follow Black Ballad on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok. Let us know what you think about this episode on Twitter by using the hashtag #BBSurvivalGuide.


Not yet a member of Black Ballad? Sign up and use the code ‘THRIVE’ for a discount for 50% off 12 months membership.


The theme music for this podcast was produced by Dar’rell Banks.


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Black Ballad Presents: The Survival Guide moves beyond the polished highlights to explore the full, textured reality of raising children as a Black woman in Britain. This podcast creates a vital space for honest dialogue, tackling the joys, complexities, and unspoken challenges that define the maternal experience. Each episode features candid conversations with a range of voices, from everyday parents to influential figures like Jamelia, Laura Henry-Allain, and Dr. Beverly Tatum Daniel, as well as the community collective Black Mums Upfront. Listeners will find a mix of personal storytelling, practical advice, and deep dives into topics often left out of mainstream parenting discussions-including intimacy, identity, mental load, and navigating systemic pressures. Produced by Black Ballad, the series builds a collective wisdom that feels more like a necessary chat with a trusted friend than a standard advice show. It’s a resource for solidarity, reflection, and genuine strategy, meeting listeners wherever they are in their journey. The conversations here are specifically for and by Black British mothers, offering relatable perspectives and survival tactics that resonate long after an episode ends. Tune in for a podcast that refuses to simplify motherhood, instead honoring its multifaceted nature with clarity and warmth.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 26

Black Ballad Presents: The Survival Guide
Podcast Episodes
Bonus: How Well Do You Know Your Child? (with Chioma Fanawopo) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 6:41
In this bonus bite-size edition of The Survival Guide, Chioma Fanawopo, mum, youth worker and wellness practitioner, tells us how we can communicate better with our older children, creating a bond that will last into adu…
Bonus: Imperfect Women, Imperfect Mothers (with Naima Coster) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:41
Often, mothers are put a pedestal that it is way too easy to fall off. In this bonus episode, bestselling author Naima Coster discusses her book, 'What's Mine and Yours', messy mother characters as well as dealing with g…
Let's Talk About SEX...Again! (with Angella, Uche & Jemilea) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:06
***Content warning***This episode discusses sexual assault and the physical trauma of childbirth.We dive back into the conversation about sex after childbirth because it's necessary!This time we have three mums talking t…
...Teenagers?! (with Jamelia) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:51
At some point, you have to accept that you're going to become the parent or caregiver you complained about when you were a teenager.But the challenges facing upcoming generations of teens are very different from what man…
When To Tell Your Kids They're Black (with Dr Beverly Daniel Tatum) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:58
No black parent looks forward to having that conversation – the one where you explain to your sweet child what it means to be racialised as 'black'.But how do we prepare our children for the realities of racism, while st…
Dual Heritage Dilemmas (with Ibianga and Abigail) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:33
Raising black children in an interracial or intercultural household doesn't have to be complicated...does it?But with different cultures having different traditions, expectations and approaches to parenting, having child…
Let's Talk About SEX! (with Black Mums Upfront) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:19
Black Ballad Presents: The Survival Guide is back with a BANG! (Nudge, nudge, wink, wink!)In the first episode of our new season we are talking about sex after motherhood with Black Mums Upfront – a topic that we really…